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Massacre of Sitmont
The Massacre of Sitmont was a major event in the history of Kaerelia which sparked the Great Resistance which led to Kaerelia's eventual independence. It happened in 1150 in the capital of Kaerelia, Sitmont, a year prior to the Great Resistance. Background Kaerelia was invaded and conquered about 400 years prior by the Marlish. Kaerelia at that point was not united and consisted of many different tribes led by Chieftains that were often warring with each other for local power. The idea of an independent Kaerelia would not exist for centuries. In the first hundred years of occupation, the Marlish treated the Kaerelians well, allowing them to keep most of their power in exchange for food, goods and sometimes men to help them in foreign wars. When Prince Duncan, later called the 'Ruthless, ascended the throne in 1053, the situation of the Kaerelians quickly deteriorated. Many Chieftains protested the increased number of Marlish troops in Kaerelia, and the higher taxes. After some Kaerelians attacked and killed two Marlish nobles the now High King Duncan striked back harshly. At least 3 Chieftains lost their heads and their families enslaved. The Kaerelian Assembly, the only representation the Kaerelians had, was abolished and slavery was introduced. On top of that Duncan installed a ruler of his own in the Kingdom to keep them under tight control, his nephew Aelon, who became the first King of Kaerelia. The remaining years before the massacre were marked by periods of heavy resistance which were crushed down heavily. Before the massacre there were only six Kaerelian lords left, which had now also adopted the titles of the Marlish as earls and dukes. The Incident In the early morning of March 5, 1150, it was unusually quietl on the royal road in the middle of the city. Four Marlish guards stood on rotation on one part of the road when they were bothered by a drunk man. They repeatedly warned the man that he should keep his distance or he would be arrested. The drunk man, who likely did not understand what they said, walked right into them. The guards reacted and attempted to arrest him, but the drunk man resisted heavily, screaming 'Help!' and 'Fire!' which could be heard from 10 blocks away. He then slung his bottle onto the head of one of the guards, killing one of them. The remaining guards killed him on the spot. Usually it would have made everyone run away from the place to avoid confrontation, but instead more and more people gathered around the royal square near the place of the killing. Around noon there were thousand of people protesting against not only the guard brutality, but also against the oppressive rule of the King, high taxes, not representation and slavery. Whilst protests were not uncommon, this one was especially violent with most protesters having some kind of weapon like pitchforks with them. At approximately 12:30 people started climbing up the buildings, trying to get to the archers. At first nothing really happened, until a young boy of 14 suddenly fell off a house to his death. There was a guard standing right at the place he slipped off. It took the rest of the angry mob only a split second to connect what happened and then everyone charged at the large guard column which tried to prevent any of the people from getting closer to the royal palace. The commander felt threatened and ordered his men to 'Slay anyone who is in their path!' Casualties There are not exact numbers available, but most estimates put the casualty rate at about 14 guards died, 110 civilians died and at last 300 wounded. Aftermath This is by most considered to be the final drop in the bucket for the people of Kaerelia and the leaders of the coming Great Resistance. It would lead to an independent Kaerelia 2 years later.